Retired 100-year-old fighter pilot from Escondido receives Medal of Honor
President Trump honored two famous soldiers during his State of the Union address, including 100-year-old Escondido veteran Royce Williams, who survived what is believed to be the longest dogfight in military history.
The former Navy fighter pilot, who sat next to First Lady Melania Trump at the Capitol on Tuesday night, flew more than 220 missions in World War II as well as the wars in Korea and Vietnam.
Trump called Williams a “living legend” before describing his wartime heroics.
“Over the skies over Korea in 1952, Royce witnessed the greatest dogfight of his life, a legendary dogfight,” Trump said. “Flying in blizzard conditions, his squadron was ambushed by seven Soviet fighter planes.”
Despite being outnumbered, Williams shot down four fighter planes and was seriously injured as his aircraft was hit more than 260 times.
The incident was kept secret because the Soviet Union was not officially a combatant in the Korean conflict and American officials feared that if the air battle became known, it might force the Soviets to officially enter the war.
Williams did not discuss the details of the encounter, even with family members, until records of the dogfight were declassified in 2002.
“His story was secret for more than 50 years. He didn’t even want to tell his wife, but the legend grew and grew,” Trump said. “Tonight, this brave 100-year-old Navy captain finally gets the recognition he deserves.”
Trump later announced that Williams would receive the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration. Melania Trump wore the medal with a blue ribbon around her neck.
Williams was the guest of Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Bonsall), a senior fellow.
“My friend, voter, and lifelong hero, Royce Williams, is a one-of-a-kind Top Gun pilot, an American hero of all time, and the recipient of the highest honor in this country right now,” Issa said in a statement. “It has been many years in the making, but it has been an honor to fight all these years for Royce to gain the recognition he did not seek but so richly deserves.”
Trump also announced that the Medal of Honor will be awarded to Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover, the Army helicopter pilot who was seriously injured in the 2026 raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“As he prepared to land, enemy machine guns opened fire from all angles, and Eric was hit very badly in the leg and hip. He observed four painful consecutive shots shatter his leg into numerous pieces,” Trump said.
Despite bullet wounds in his legs and blood pouring from the helicopter he was piloting, “Eric maneuvered his helicopter with all that heart and soul to confront the enemy and allowed his gunners to eliminate the threat, flipping the helicopter over to let the gunners do their job and saving the lives of his fellow warriors from a catastrophic accident deep in enemy territory,” he said.
Trump added, “Chief Warrant Officer Slover is still recovering from serious injuries, but I’m excited to say he’ll be here tonight with his wife, Amy. Eric and Amy, come in.”
Slover entered the gallery with the help of a walker. “In recognition of Eric’s actions above and beyond the call of duty, I now ask General Jonathan Braga to present Chief Warrant Officer Slover with our nation’s highest military award,” Trump said.
Trump added that he also hopes to receive the Medal of Honor one day.
“But I was informed that I was not allowed to give it to myself,” Trump said. “But if they pass this law, I’ll be there one day.”
